Best 1-Percenter Beer Summit

City Paper

The Acela is not actually all that much faster than the plain old train, which only takes about 2.5 hours to get to New York, but it costs a boatload more. In fact, the regular Amtrak is so much more expensive than the BoltBus, that we have trouble even justifying taking that. So why would you take the Acela? Well, if you are a politician such as Martin O’Malley, you take it to avoid the riffraff. If O’Malley is on the Acela, he’s not likely to be accosted by, say, a City Paper reporter. Instead, if he sees anyone uncomfortable, it is someone of the status and caliber of David Simon, who angered the mayor with his portrayal of both the city and of the white councilman cum mayor Carcetti on “the Wire.” So, when the two met on the Acela, Simon, at the instigation of his son, did not “let it loose” and ask some difficult questions. Instead, he bought the governor a beer. “We’re getting to be old men at this point. Sit, talk,” O’Malley said. It’s not exactly “Snowpiercer,” but it does say something about class and transportation. “Sláinte,” gentlemen.